Portrait of EK (Ellsworth Kelly), 1956
Fine Art Drawings : ink · 30.5 x 22.9 x 0.5 cm 12 x 9 x 0.2 inch
CHF 11,662
11 662 CHF
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About the artwork
Type
Fine Art Drawings : Unique artwork
Condition
Artwork sold in perfect condition, not framed
Authenticity
Sold with certificate of Authenticity from the gallery
Invoice from the gallery
Signature
Hand-signed by artist
Dimensions ( cm • inch )
30.5 x 22.9 x 0.5 cm 12 x 9 x 0.2 inch Height x Width x Depth
Sold by
Art gallery
Credentials
Vetted seller since 2016 • Top Seller
Discount
This seller offers discount when you purchase multiple artworks.
Description
Robert Indiana (1928-2018)
Portrait of EK (Ellsworth Kelly), 1956
Pen and ink with pencil on Hammermill cream wove paper
12 x 9 in. (30.5 x 22.9 cm.)
Initialed and dated in pencil, lower right ("RC '56"); initialed by the sitter, Ellsworth Kelly, in pencil, lower left ("EK")
Robert Indiana is remembered for the hard-edged imagery of LOVE, the numerals and the stenciled word paintings. This drawing shows a different side of him: an intimate, observed portrait made in 1956, at the very start of his career. The sitter is Ellsworth Kelly, his partner at the time. The two were part of the small community of young artists who settled around Coenties Slip in lower Manhattan in the mid-1950s, a group that would go on to reshape American art.
The drawing is direct and unhurried. Indiana builds the face from a supple, continuous line. The eyes are the most fully worked part of the sheet. They are dark, wide open and slightly unequal, and they meet the viewer's gaze frankly. Around them the drawing loosens. The forehead and cheek are barely indicated, the hair is a tangle of looping strokes, and the collar is only hinted at. Soft pencil shading gives volume to the nose and lips, while the pen keeps the contours firm. The effect is of a face caught in a moment of quiet attention rather than a formal likeness.
The signature adds a further point of interest. The drawing is initialed "RC", for Robert Clark, the name under which the artist was born. He adopted the name Indiana only in 1958, so this sheet dates from before the persona that made him famous. It also carries Kelly's own pencil initials in the lower left corner, which confirm the identity of the sitter and his acknowledgment of the portrait.
For collectors, the sheet is a rare document of friendship between two major figures of postwar American art, at the moment when each was finding his own visual language. Indiana went on to build his art from signs and symbols, and Kelly from color and pure form. Here, both are still exploring the human face.
The sheet remained with the artist, and later passed to a private collection in Maine. The provenance points to a work Indiana kept from his own early years, at his home on Vinalhaven.
Presentation
Robert Indiana is an American artist. He was born on the 13th of September, 1928 in New Castle, Indiana. He joined the Pop-Art movement in New York after his graduation from Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis. He used some distinctive imagery drawing on commercial art approaches blended with existentialism. He calls that art "sculptural poems".
In 1962, Robert Indiana had his first solo exhibition in Eleanor Ward's Stable Gallery located in New York. Now, Indiana is represented in many museums around the world and counts more than 30 solo exhibitions during his career.
He created his famous iconic work LOVE for a Christmas card for the Museum of Modern Art in 1964. It was a great success and later US Postal Service included this artwork on stamps in 1973, it was called the “Love Stamps" series. Sculptural versions of The Love have been installed in many cities around the world like Philadelphia, and NYC. Then he created various versions in different languages like “Amor" in Spanish and “Ahava" (which means love in Hebrew) for the Israel Museum Art Garden in Jerusalem, Israel.
Between 1996 and 1997, Robert Indiana created two different portfolios: The book of Love and The American Dream. They are composed of many Serigraphs and poems written by Robert Creeley.
In 2008, Robert Indiana set up new sculptures and artworks with the word “Hope". He used the same concept to his Love. This image was famous during the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. The Obama campaign sold T-shirts, pins, bumper stickers, posters and other items adorned with HOPE. Editions of the sculpture have been released and sold internationally and the artist himself has called HOPE "Love's close relative".
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